Catalyst, Part Two
by SciFiScribe
Summary: Where Catalyst left off. A very special girl has incredible importance to the future of the human race.
1. Chapter 1

**Catalyst Part Two**

**Chapter One – Prologue**

**_The Prophecy of Iris_**

_And she will come upon them as a child, vulnerable and alone. She will speak of things to come. Iris is the messenger of the gods, bringing light and dark to the tribes. She will hold in her hand the gifts of life, hope, healing and peace. She will find refuge among the chosen ones and her destiny will be entwined in their paths. _

_In 32 cycles of time, Iris will be found by the betrayers and destroyed. In the 33rd cycle, she will survive and end the conflict. She will lead the tribes to the chosen world, where a mighty and bloody battle will decide the fate of mankind. The strength of the few will overpower the many, if their faith is strong. _

_The child must be protected in seclusion until she reaches the age of three and ten. At this time, her sight will be restored and she will bring her knowledge to the warriors. With the wisdom of the chosen ones, this knowledge will end the threat of the betrayers for all eternity. A new cycle of time will begin. Mankind will prosper and a golden age will be achieved. The chosen world, to be called Gaia, will be fruitful, for the gods will reward the chosen ones for ending the war of time. The faithful will be showered with the love of the gods and 3300 years of peace. _

_The sacred number of Iris is 33. It represents the number of cycles of time, the number of blessed cities of Gaia that will flourish over the 3300 years, and the number of stars in the constellation Persephone, which will appear above the northern hemisphere of Gaia as the chosen ones approach. _

_The fallen thirteenth god will appear to the chosen ones and the betrayers on the surface of Gaia. The betrayers will see him as the one true god, and this will be their weakness. _

_The original Gaians will number 33,000, and their hearts will be heavy and dark with grief for their fallen companions when they begin their lives on the planet's fertile soil. Iris will inspire them to build, to love and to create life. The gods will grant them solace, and they will draw comfort from each other. _

_Iris will be known by three names, and she will experience three lives. Her first life will be symbolic of the path of man; she will face both great joy and great sorrow. The Fire-Bringer and the Archer will cherish her, and she will heal them. She will become aware of her gifts, but this knowledge will endanger her and those she loves. In the first 32 cycles, she will perish before she reaches her next existence. In the 33rd cycle she will move to her second life, a time of rest and growth. She will be blind to her gifts and unaware of her destiny. An artist and a healer will protect her. On the eve of her third and tenth year, she will awaken and assume her place with the chosen ones, enlightened of her purpose as the messenger of the gods. She will reunite with the Archer and the Fire-Bringer, and the final battle will begin. _

_The skies will be black with the betrayers, and fire will rain from the heavens. Five will journey to the Triton of Hades, which will pierce the heart of Persephone. The blood of the betrayers will fill the river of Demeter when Persephone's heart is healed. The thirteenth god will fall to the Archer, but the blood of many warriors will stain the victory._ – From The Secret Teachings of the Ancient Scrolls. Before the birth of Gaia, this document was available only to the highest levels of clergy (Holy Guides) after a series of trials and vows of secrecy. It was written in the ancient tongue, and only one existed. As Priests achieved the position of Holy Guide, they were exposed to the Secret Teachings one phrase at a time, until the entire text was committed to memory. Before the last Apocalypse, Holy Guides would gather daily for meditation and recitation of the secret teachings. The prophecy of Iris, as it is translated here, was the catalyst that brought our ancestors to Gaia over 200 years ago. (P. Adama, Symbolism in the Secret Text of the Ancient Scrolls, pp 231-235, copyright Gaian Year 208, New Delphi.)

……………………………………………………………………………………

Kara Thrace is sitting alone in a storage closet, holding a tattered photograph. She traces her finger over the three smiling people captured here. She marvels at how naïve she was then, and how innocent. Her finger lingers over the man on the right, standing close to her, but careful not to touch her. She wonders, somewhat bitterly, if the gods knew on that day what was in store for all of them? The man on her right was the only one who knew how much she was hurting right now, and she was grateful to have him to lean on in the endless days that were her life. He was hurting, too, and when they were alone they could unleash all of their grief in each other's arms. She kisses her finger and lays it over his heart, hoping that the gesture with the photo can somehow heal the gaping hole in his real heart. She moves her finger to the other man, the one she is snuggled against in the photo. Her sadness overcomes any feeling of foolishness she has as she begins to speak to the photo.

"Zak, I miss you. I miss your laugh, and your eyes. I know what you did, with Gianne, but I'm not mad at you. I was. I was furious, but now I think I know why you did it. You always knew about Lee and I, didn't you? It was at least a year before I met you, and it was only once, but something happened between us that scared us both half to death. I can't define it, but it's been there between us ever since. The thing is, it doesn't mean I loved you any less. I hope you never thought you were a replacement for him, I loved you for who you were, and I would have done anything for you. Anyway, over the years Lee and I came to terms with it enough to be friends, but it was always there, under the surface. If there's one thing your brother and I know better than most people, it's how to shove our emotions into a big heaping pile of denial. It's why we can fly together, why we can read each other like a book and why we both fell head over heals in love with a little girl with your heart and an unbelievable amount of that Adama charisma I'm such a sucker for. She's your little girl, Zak, and she's amazing. I want to tell you about her, and the little bit of time that I got to have with her. I don't think you knew about her, even if you did, I don't want to think about it." She pauses and opens the hatch to make sure the hallway is still deserted. Confident she is still alone; she returns to her hiding spot and resumes her story.

"Lee has a few secrets of his own, and I don't feel comfortable telling you about them, that's up to him to settle with his own demons. So my story about Paya begins with a phone call I received from an old friend. Do you remember Raisa? She was the education major that waited on us every weekend at that dive bar you loved so much. Raisa was a rock for me after you died. She stayed with me every night for the first week, made sure I ate and showered. After your dad took me onboard and she went off to teach, she would have her class send me notes and pictures all the time. She was my drinking buddy whenever I had shore leave and bailed me out a few times. She knew about my mom, so she sent me care packages every year on my birthday. I've never had a friend like her before. I was sure she had died during the holocaust, but apparently she was studying some insects in deep space on a grant. She saw me on this silly television thing about the Galactica and recognized me, and, more importantly, recognized Lee. She knew Gianne, or her family knew her family, and when Paya was born, Gianne was staying with her. They lost touch when Gianne moved out when Paya was only a few months old. The gods must be looking out for her, Zak, because somehow she survived the cylon attacks and ended up in the fleet. Lee found her first, but she ended up staying with Raisa. I met her at Raisa's place on the Dionysian, and Raisa told me how Paya came to be, and all that she had gone through to get where she was. A few weeks later, I did something really stupid involving your brother and went to see Raisa to try to make myself feel better. While I was there I learned that Paya is very special. She can see things, Zak, things that are going to happen. Not only that, she seems to be able to read people, she knows what they're feeling. She has this wisdom about her that goes beyond her age. She's only four, but she seems like a soul that has lived 100 lifetimes. She helped me save Lee. If she hadn't known…." She shudders.

"Raisa was scared for her safety. In retrospect, I certainly can't blame her. We brought her here, and Lee and I tried to give her a normal little girl life, as much as we could on a Battlestar. The whole crew was in love with her. Your dad thought she hung the moon, and had about a hundred pictures of her in his quarters. Some of the pilots taught her how to juggle and she learned how to play triad from someone, although she never told me who it was." She chuckles.

"I wish you could have seen the way Lee was with her. He was so gentle, so protective of her. Seeing them together, it melted my heart. She healed him, she healed me; she brought down all of the silly barriers the two of us always kept between us. She gave us permission to fall in love with each other and with her, and how to love each other unconditionally." She pauses again as she feels a wave of loneliness for the sweet girl who means so much to her.

"Paya knew she was in danger. She had nightmares nearly every night about a cylon attack in our quarters. Lee moved in with us when the nightmares got more explicit, and she was willing to tell us the extent of them. We did everything we could to make the Galactica safe. We increased the CAP patrols, we had marines staking out all possible entrances to the corridor we lived in, the chief installed a panic button; Lee and I were prepared to knock out a dozen centurions if we had to. Paya talked with the president, for a long time, about why the cylons wanted her. She's going to know how to stop them. Roslin came to us right away, and begged us to consider sending Paya somewhere where she would be safer. Lee and I argued that we could protect her far better than any stranger could, and she agreed to not push the matter further. We should have listened to her then." She falls into a long moment of silence.

"We set a trap for the cylons. We left an abandoned Raptor in orbit around a moon near the previous jump coordinates. The toasters took the bait and flew the Raptor back to Galactica. We planted bugs in the cockpit and saw six centurions on board. The path between the bay and our quarters was cleared and marines were stationed to fall in behind the cylons to block any possible retreat and to eliminate any that Lee and I missed. The plan seemed to work perfectly, we blew away the toasters with no injuries to any of our own crew." She is beginning to cry.

"I didn't see him until it was too late. The cylon that tortured me on Caprica was wearing one of our marine uniforms. I didn't tell anyone what happened down there, so no one knew to look for him." She sobs and wipes her eyes roughly with the back of her hand. "He was talking to Lee, and I had Paya in my arms, telling her everything was going to be fine. She was holding her bear. It made her feel safe. I saw him turn to me, and I knew right away what he was going to do. In a second, his gun was raised and he had knocked Lee unconscious. I turned to try to protect her. The bullet went through my shoulder clean, through her bear and into her chest. I fell on top of her and the stuffing from the bear was flying around, and there was blood everywhere. I heard the marines rush in, and the gunfire as they eliminated the son-of-a-bitch who shot us before I lifted myself from her. She was lying there so still, and the pool of blood under her was spreading quickly across the floor. I think I passed out then." There is another long pause.

"I woke up in Life Station. Your dad told me the plan. They would tell everyone Paya was dead. The cylons would never stop coming for her until she was gone, he told me it was the only way to keep her alive. Her visions could be controlled with an herb, they could change her appearance and they would erase all of her memories of her life to the point where she would wake up in her new home. I argued with him, and later the president, that I could keep her safe, but I knew what they were saying was true. Maybe some of Paya's intuition rubbed off on me. Wanting to keep her with us was selfish, but letting go of her was the hardest thing I've ever done. We had the funeral, then we said goodbye to her."

"I don't know if I'm going to see her again, but I wanted you to know I loved her like she was my own daughter. She has a lot of you in her, everything good and sweet and kind. I've said a prayer for her every hour since she left, two days ago. You would have loved her, Zak." She allows herself to cry for a few moments more, and then she leaves the safety of the closet and heads towards her quarters. She hopes he is there, since the little girl left they have spent every moment they can spare clinging to each other. Somehow sharing their grief makes both of their loads a little lighter. They don't speak of her; the door to her room is tightly closed and Kara has safely placed all of the photos, books and other memories of her in a storage chest. The only thing that remains is the fern Lee gave her on her first night in her little home. It still thrives, just as it did when Paya whispered encouraging words to it every day, unbeknownst to her guardians. She told it she was coming back home, and begged it to wait for her.

**TBC**

**_A/N – For Emily. Next chapter, we jump into the future._**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"May I come in?" The priest stood outside the door to her quarters, just as Olivia Whittaker was grabbing her stethoscope before heading to her shift in Life Station. "I need to discuss something very important with you."

Olivia backed up to allow the priest to enter the cramped quarters she shared with her husband. She sidestepped to stand in front of the half-empty ambrosia bottle on the piano. "There's not much room, but you can sit on the chair." She gestured towards the dining chair in the corner, and silently prayed it wasn't dusty. _Lords of Kobol, hide my dust_. She chuckled slightly before she could catch herself. "What can I get for you?"

"Nothing, thank you. How's Arvid?"

"Fine. He's been giving piano lessons to some of the crew. But you didn't come here to talk about Arvid."

"I think you should sit down. Don't mind the bottle you're trying to hide. I've seen ambrosia before." The priest smiled slightly. Olivia sat on the piano bench, but kept her eyes on the priest.

"What's wrong?" Sitting down rarely meant good news, she thought grimly.

"Nothing is wrong, child. But I need to ask you to do something for me. It's a pretty big something." The priest smiled wryly.

"Anything. All you have to do is ask."

"I need you and Arvid to take in a child." The priest sat back slightly in her chair.

"A child?"

"Yes, a very special child. She needs a nurse, a home and a family. I see all three, right here."

"Right _here_?" Olivia looked around the very small room she shared with her husband and his piano. "I'd have to talk to Arvid…. When does she need a place? Why in the worlds would you pick us?"

"She'll be with you tonight. You and Arvid are moving to The Rising Star. There are quarters there for you; we'll move the rest of your things today. Someone is discussing it with Arvid right now." The priest smiled again, "and I didn't pick you. The gods did."

Olivia was speechless.

"There's more," the priest continued, losing a hint of her smile. "The child won't remember anything that happened before she wakes up here. It's important that she thinks she has lived with you and your husband for her entire life. She has recently been in grave danger, and we need a place for her to hide, completely."

**………………………………………………………………………….**

No one could ever accuse Allie Whittaker of being shy, or, for that matter, subtle. On most occasions, her mother found this endearing about her oldest child, but on this particular afternoon, her patience for it was thin. As she sat across a large table from Allie's teacher, with her daughter to her right, Olivia Whittaker was developing a headache.

"Your daughter has been organizing Triad games during her lunch period." The teacher looked at Olivia over her glasses. "It appears she has amassed quite a collection of winnings from a few of our students. Comic books, candy, rec tokens, art supplies… the list goes on."

"If you can't afford to lose it, don't put it on the table. First rule of Triad." Allie grinned her most disarming grin. Olivia saw a flash of smile behind the teacher's eyes. Allie turned to her mother. "Listen. The only kids I play with are the bullies who've been picking on the Primary kids. That stuff wasn't theirs, they took it from the little guys, so I won it back for them." She turned back to her teacher. "_And_, I didn't hit anyone this time. I don't see the problem. No one's bleeding, the kids got their stuff back and it'll be a long time before those tylium heads try to take candy from kindergarteners again."

"No more Triad, Allie." The teacher let her look soften a hint. "Did you ever think of telling me about the bullies?"

"You're busy. Besides, telling on them will only make them mad. If they get mad, they're just going to get meaner. Look at it this way, they're going to be so busy playing Triad, they won't have any time to think of ways to make the rest of us miserable, at least until they get tired of winning the same junk from each other over and over."

"Very well, Allie." The teacher sighed. "Can you wait outside for a minute while I talk to your mom?" The girl got up to leave, gathering her books. She stooped to give her mother a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry, Ma," she whispered in her ear. She grinned at the teacher and left the classroom.

"Olivia, my dear, you are a strong, strong woman." The teacher laughed and patted her friend's hand. "Seven hours a day with your girl and I'm exhausted. She's really something, isn't she? Aside from shaking down thugs and running a casino out of the cafeteria, she's doing very well, as I'm sure you already know. I have a hard time keeping her challenged, but we've been doing a bunch of independent study. She's been working with some of the professors on a cultural history of the twelve colonies. She's still spending a few hours a week in hydroponics, she volunteers in The Ark, she tutors younger kids and she's trying to start a band. Thank gods it's a big ship, or else I'd run out of places to keep her occupied."

"Thanks for all you do with her. I'm glad we finally found a teacher who can keep up with her." She added, with a chuckle, "and keep her in line."

"I'm glad you came in, Olivia. She won't be in too much trouble for the Triad incident."

Walking back to their quarters, Olivia looked down at her daughter. She reached out and tugged lightly on the girl's brown ponytail.

"Are you mad at me, Ma?" She peered up, blue eyes worried. "I really was just trying to help…"

"Nope, I'm not mad. I know what you were trying to do." She throws an arm over her daughter's shoulder and they walk the remainder of steps to their quarters in silence.

They hear the tinkling of piano keys as they draw close to the door. Allie grinned and ran into the suite of rooms first, hurtling herself at her father. "Dad! You're back! How was Cloud Nine?" She paused. "Scoot over." She plopped down next to him on the bench and picked up the under hand of the piece he was playing, improvising the parts she was unfamiliar with. He shared his tales of playing for the presidential speech on the luxury liner, pausing to hear about her recent run in at school. Olivia watched them for a second before leaving the room to check on her two younger children and start dinner.

"She turns thirteen in a week," Olivia whispered to her husband as they lay in their bed that night.

"I know." Arvid reached for her hand. "You okay?"

"I don't know. When I was talking to her teacher, I just kept thinking, this will be the last time I come in here to talk about Allie. In six days I'm not going to be her mother anymore."

"Liv, you'll always be her mother. And don't underestimate the girl. She could easily get in trouble enough to warrant a parent teacher conference in the next six days." She laughed lightly and curled into his chest. He kissed her forehead lightly. "I'm going to miss her, too." He paused, absently stroking circles onto his wife's back. "Think she's ready for this?"

"I think she's been ready for this since she got here."

**…………………………………………………………**

The next night, Arvid was practicing and Olivia was knitting in the armchair near the piano. They exchanged a brief glance when they heard a knock at their door.

"I'll get it." Arvid rose from the piano bench and paused to squeeze Olivia's shoulder before opening the door. "Come on in. Have a seat."

Olivia put her knitting aside and stood to greet her guests. She extended her hand to the gentleman nearest to her. He nodded to her and shook her hand firmly. The woman behind him stepped forward and took her hand in both of hers.

"Mrs. Whittaker. I'm honored to meet you. My name is Tressida; this is my associate, Mr. Flemming. We have a great deal to discuss this evening." The tall, elegantly dressed woman took a seat on the sofa and crossed her hands in her lap. Mr. Flemming remained standing, but moved to behind the sofa.

"May we get you anything? I made coffee." Olivia moved toward the kitchen, hoping a project, even as small as getting coffee, would distract her enough to make her hands stop shaking. _Lords of Kobol, give me strength._ Her prayer was silent, but her hand moved unconsciously to grasp the icon of Artemis that hung around her neck. She quickly gathered the coffee supplies and rejoined the group in her front room. Breathing deeply, she poured four cups and reclaimed her seat in the armchair.

Tressida took a sip of the hot liquid and sighed in contentment. "It has been far too long since I have had a cup of real coffee. It's delicious, thank you so much for sharing it with us." She placed the cup in its saucer. "You've done a wonderful job, both of you. Allie is a remarkable girl, and a good deal of the credit for that goes to the two of you. I've been keeping an eye on her since she arrived, and every report I hear amazes me." She made and held eye contact with both Whittakers before continuing. "I trust you know a little of Allie's destiny?"

Arvid nodded imperceptibly. Olivia managed to mumble "yes." They were told bits of information when they took her in.

"We know she has visions, when she doesn't take the herbs," Arvid started. "We know that when she turns thirteen she's going to go back to the Galactica. The man who brought her to us said we'd learn more at the right time." He moved to the arm of the chair and placed his arm gently around his wife.

"It seems that the right time is upon us, Mr. and Mrs. Whittaker. Mr. Flemming, would you mind stepping out into the hall? I need you to assure that we are not disturbed." The tall gentleman nodded at Arvid and Olivia, then stepped silently out the door. Tressida took another sip of coffee and continued. "Mrs. Whittaker, Olivia, if I may? I understand you are a religious woman, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am, since I was little." She again took Artemis into her palm.

"Are you familiar with the term Holy Guide?" Tressida's lavender eyes met with Olivia's. Olivia nodded.

"They're the spiritual leaders of the colonial faith." Olivia herself had only met one, when she was very young and attended services in the large temple in Tauron City. Holy Guides were very rare, at the time of the Cylon Holocaust there were only 100 or so ordained.

"True. It's rumored that all of the Holy Guides were killed when their temple on Caprica was destroyed, yes?"

"Yes ma'am." Olivia said another silent prayer for the Guides.

"It seems not all of the Guides were on Caprica that day, as was reported. There are three of us remaining in the fleet. It has been very important that we keep our presence quiet in the years since the attacks. The Cylons know that we knew more than what appears in the Ancient Scrolls, and that information may very well help us defeat them, once and for all. Your daughter is the key."

Olivia sputtered. "What are you saying? You're a Holy Guide? Allie is going to defeat the Cylons? You're taking away my little girl so she can fight toasters?" Tears spring to her eyes, but she fights them back. "No. You can't take her. She's not going anywhere with you or anyone else. I don't care what we said we'd do. No Holy Guide would do this to a little girl."

Tressida sat calmly on the couch, her eyes filled with empathy for the woman in front of her. She gave her a moment to compose herself. "A mother's love is such a beautiful, fierce thing. I can't even begin to know how painful and confusing this must be for the two of you. You've been such wonderful parents to Allie; I know you love her a great deal. But this path was laid before her long before any of us in this room existed."

Arvid cleared his throat. "What path is that?"

"There are three prophecies that do no exist in the Ancient Scrolls as you know them. Historically, the information contained in these prophecies has been known only by the Holy Guides. I'm sure you are familiar with the passage 'This has all happened before, and it will all happen again.' For 32 cycles of time, this has been the case. We believe that this is the 33rd cycle, the end of the persecution and near extinction that has marked every age in which our people have lived. The hidden prophecies state that we will be led by the prophet Iris, the messenger of the gods, to the final battle, and we will endure. Allie is that prophet." Tressida let her gaze rest gently on Olivia. "You know, in your heart, it is the truth."

"Will she be safe?" Olivia's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Yes. And there are people on the Galactica who love her as much as you do; who will do everything in their power to protect her."

"What happens next?"

"Allie needs to stop taking the herbs, today, in fact. Her visions will start again soon, and she will begin to have flashes of memory of the time before she joined your family. The day before her birthday, she'll most likely remember everything and her visions will have returned completely. We'll take her to the Galactica that night."

"Will we be able to see her again?"

"Yes. As soon as it is safe, you'll be able to talk to her frequently and visit with her whenever you want." She smiled at them both."I believe your children will be home soon, and I don't want to interrupt your family time, so my companion and I will be leaving." As if on cue, Mr. Flemming opened the door and held it for Tressida to exit. She paused and hugged Olivia tightly. "You keep praying, child. The gods are about to answer all of our prayers."

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_**Year One**_

Kara scarcely remembered the first few weeks of Paya's absence after she and Lee managed to live through them.

After a month, they could say her name, but it broke their hearts to hear it spoken out loud. Slowly their sadness insinuated itself between them, and every moment between them became awkward and thick with sorrow. When they could no longer look at each other, Lee quietly moved his things back to pilot's quarters. He said goodbye when she was sleeping, pausing before he walked out the door to gaze sadly at her. He wanted more than anything to comfort her, to hold her again; but his grief was as great and blinding as hers.

After two months, they both returned to flying, and it helped them start to heal. They didn't know which ship she was on, but flying CAP made them feel closer to her. They were scheduled on opposite shifts, and both found other places to be during leave. Slowly, Kara stopped crying herself to sleep at night and Lee stopped endlessly punishing himself for how Paya had been injured. Soon they fell into a routine, maybe they were both working a little more than they should, maybe they should have eaten or slept more often, but they survived and held their emotions in check in the name of duty. On the off chance they did run into each other, or catch each other's eye, all of the pain would come rushing back. They would look at each other with sympathy and shame, then turn away until the next time fate threw them in the same place at the same time.

After three months, they were so adept at avoiding each other, often a week or more would go by without them even passing in the corridors.

After four months, the other pilots plotted and traded shifts until they managed to get the two of them flying CAP together. Silently, and once far enough away from visual range of Galactica, they began to dance in the sky. Their vipers twisted and swirled through the air together, sometimes so close that the slightest wiggle would have caused them to collide violently into the other. They continued in silence, finishing their flight with a slight waggle of wings. They remained silent as they landed and exited their crafts, then headed in opposite directions.

After six months, he found her sobbing uncontrollably in a causeway. He slid in next to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her head onto his shoulder. She let herself cling to him and did nothing to try to control her tears. Soon he was crying with her, and they held each other until they couldn't weep any longer. "Lee?" she whispered.

He answered her with a kiss.

After twelve months, they finally allowed themselves to comfort each other with pleasure, instead of grief, and as they fell asleep, damp and naked, in each other's arms, they both smiled for the first time since she had been taken from their lives.

**…………………………………………………………**

**Year Two**

Dear Paya,

I miss you like crazy. We all miss you like crazy. It was Lee's idea to start this journal. You know he's better at touchy-feely stuff than I am. It feels like you've been gone forever and like you were here only yesterday all at the same time. I wish you were still here with us. We talk about you all the time, and not just Lee and I. I never realized how many friends you had onboard. Everyone from the Chief to the Commander has a story about you.

Love,

Kara

* * *

Dear Paya,

I saw Raisa today. I had some time, so I flew over to your old ship. She's good. She's still teaching – Lee and I have been over there a couple of times to talk about flying. Some of the students seem really interested in becoming pilots, we can use all the help we can get.

Commander Tigh finally admitted that he taught you to play triad. You were right, you know, he's not such an ogre after all. We were playing and he just blurted it out. Lee and I laughed so hard. It was nice, to remember you and laugh. I would give anything to have you here with us, I hope you are safe and happy.

Love,

Kara

* * *

Dear Paya,

I stole Kara's journal when she wasn't looking so I could write to you, too. I'm hiding my message in the back, and I swear I didn't read anything she wrote to you. She finally decided a silly piece of paper and a blessing was worth something in space, after all. We got married an hour ago. I want to shout it over the PA, but she swore she'd hurt me if I did. I wish you could have been there.

Miss you,

Lee

* * *

Dear Paya,

You would be very pleased to know that I married Lee today. It was a really small wedding. Your grandpa was there, and Helo. Lee thinks it's weird I don't want to tell everybody right away, but right now, it feels too special to share with anyone but family. We all missed you a lot today.

Love,

Kara

* * *

Dear Paya,

Dee and Billy had a baby. They asked us if it would be okay if they gave her Paya as a middle name. We told her we thought you would like that very much. She's a beautiful little girl, with lots of curly hair and a dimple in her cheek. We haven't seen or heard from the cylons in almost six months. Everyone seems to be taking a breath and relaxing a little. I doubt she will be the only baby on the ship for long. I miss you so much, sweetheart. I still pray for you every day.

Love,

Kara

**TBC**


End file.
